One type of universal joint for motor vehicles uses bearing cups which have integral flanges that prevent them from being pulled through the collars of the yokes in which they are supported; and disassembly of such universal joints is a very difficult operation. The bearing cups are fastened to the collars by means of flanged screws which extend through holes in the bearing cup flanges and into threaded bores in the yoke collars. Even after the flanged bolts are removed, the bearing cups are tightly held in the yoke collars, and it is difficult to get either a pulling or a prying tool between the cup flange and the yoke collar to lift the cup out of the collar. A prior art patent which has certain features that are similar to the structure of the present invention is Stebbins U.S. Pat. No. 3,076,259. However, the Stebbins structure cannot be used to remove a flanged bearing cup from a universal joint yoke; and in addition the structure is such that it can be used only to remove bearing cups from a second yoke of a universal joint after the first yoke has already been removed in another way.
Recently issued Elg U.S. Pat. No. 3,845,891 shows apparatus for removing a flanged cup bearing.